How would you describe a Seventh-day Adventist?" Ask that question of any dozen people on the street, and you re likely to receive a dozen responses indicating confusion. Many descriptions show that the person has mistaken our church with that of the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. Others will mention positive assets as if they were liabilities: "They don't eat meat." "They don't dance." "They worship on a different day than everybody else does."
Recently a large advertising firm was asked to analyze the Adventist Church and then distill the essence of what they found appealing. The directors of this project were being exposed to the church for the first time. They knew only that Seventh-day Adventists worshiped on Saturday. After a detailed study, this advertising group concluded that the most appealing aspect of our church is that we are "people helping people." This, they felt, is our major distinction. Many of us within the church were startled. But they insisted that we are "helping people" more than any other denomination. And when we think about it, nearly everything that we are doing, or should be doing, is designed to help people.
We don't always realize how much our church has to offer people because we have grown so familiar with its various programs. This was illustrated during a seminar conducted for a group of Adventist communication directors by a representative of the world's largest public-relations firm. During one of the sessions they discussed the bad publicity the church has been receiving in certain areas. This man wanted to know whether there was one good program carried on by the church that would be appealing to the nonmember. Without too much enthusiasm the communication directors began naming some—Community Services, Bible seminars, Five-Day Plans, nutrition courses, stress seminars, youth camps, blind camps, et cetera. "You're kidding!" he interrupted. He was amazed that the church carries on these programs and many more. Most people don't realize that there is a church that does as much as we do to help people. And that is something that ought to change. Everyone in the world should know that there is a church that is concerned about helping people, especially spiritually. They should know that this helping church is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But how?
The average American is bombarded with information every waking hour. Radio, television, newspapers, magazines, bulletin boards, placards, hand bills, newsletters, direct mail, and bill boards all vie for attention in such a deluge of information that even the best mind can absorb only a small part of it. If a product or service (or church) is to be heard and become known and accepted, its message must somehow stand out from the competing cacophony.
Most advertising companies realize that displacing the leader in any particular field is nearly impossible. Yet that is not to conclude that the field is saturated. A similar product can be successful if it is given some distinctive quality that sets it apart. The advertising term for this is "positioning." People in the business consider "positioning" to be vital.
For example, when Nytol, a cold medicine, was developed, the company's advertisers recognized that Dristan and Contact, the leading cold medicines, already had their own niches in the minds of the medicine-buying public. They had to find a position where their brand could attract the most attention but not compete directly with the major brands. They found that the leading brands were positioned in consumers' minds as "daytime" cold medicines. So they decided to position Nytol as the "nighttime" cold remedy. Consumers accepted this distinction, and soon Nytol sales were right behind the two leading products.
Who would think that something as ugly as a Volkswagen would ever become as popular as it has! But Volkswagen advertising got people to think "small." By using this strategy, the company was able to position the Beetle. Volkswagen has never displaced GM, Ford, and Chrysler, but it certainly has sold large numbers of automobiles!
We recognize that Seventh-day Adventists will never displace the large mainline denominations in terms of numbers or wealth. But it is important for everybody to know that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is alive and healthy. It should be known that Seventh-day Adventists are "people helping people." No other church, we believe, can make this claim to the extent that we can. And people are interested in being helped.
In North America, the church is actively initiating in every way possible the process of positioning our church as "people helping people." The Adventist booth at the Knoxville World's Fair announced to the thousands of people who visited it during 1982 that Seventh-day Adventists are "people helping people around the world." In the first three months of the fair, nearly ten thousand people expressed an interest in the help Adventists have to offer.
In the western part of the United States, the October, 1982, Reader's Digest contained a two-page message emphasizing that Seventh-day Adventists are "people helping people." Reader's Digest enters approximately one in every four homes west of the Mississippi. This means that nearly 7 million homes have been exposed to the idea that Seventh-day Adventists are "people helping people" and have been told how to contact us for spiritual and physical help.
Faith Action Advance, the soul-winning concept of the North American Division, is based on "people helping people." Every member in North America is being challenged to become involved, using the individual talents given by the Holy Spirit. Everywhere people are looking for help. Our commission is to provide that help, to help them know that God loves them, that Christ is coming soon, and that while waiting for His coming, they can enjoy the peace and comfort to be found in serving the Lord. "People helping people" to be ready for Christ's return must be the concern of every member, church, conference, and institution of the church.
